What good can come of this? Emotional and mental wellbeing

Back to European Regional Forum publications

Rapporteurs

Chris Owen
Senior Vice Chair, IBA European Regional Forum
chris.Owen@penningtonslaw.com

Merlin Seeman
Website and Communications Officer, IBA European Regional Forum
merlin.seeman@hedman.ee

Moderator

George Artley  BIC Project Lawyer, International Bar Association, London

Speakers

Horacio Bernades Neto  Motta Fernandes Advogados, Brazil; President, International Bar Association

Carola van den Bruinhost  Loyens & Loeff, Amsterdam; LPD Secretary / Treasurer, International Bar Association

Mary Jackson  LawCare, Ireland

Emma Jones  University of Sheffield, Sheffield

Chris Owen  Penningtons Manches Cooper, London; Senior Vice Chair, IBA European Regional Forum

Søren Skibsted  Kromann Reumert, Copenhagen; Co-Chair, IBA Technology Law Committee

Dear members of the European Regional Forum,

Hopefully you, your close-ones and colleagues are safe and well during these turbulent times.  

In May, the European Regional Forum organised a webinar on the topic, What good can come of this? Emotional and mental wellbeing and the legal workplace post Covid-19. The webinar explored the challenges law firms in developing working practices face when supporting the emotional and mental wellbeing of their staff, during and after the pandemic.

We concluded the following key takeaways that we would like to draw your attention to.

Balanced/happy lawyers are more productive and last longer

A psychologist participant said that law is stressful and usually involves working in a intense and competitive environment. This is not a healthy environment to develop emotional wellbeing.

Lawyers are more susceptible to substance misuse than most other professions

The LawCare mental health charity in the United Kingdom was founded for this reason. The President of the IBA joined the call to emphasise his backing for the mental health initiative of the IBA because of what he has seen in Brazil and internationally on this.

‘Attention to detail’ and ‘Hyperactive Doing Mode’ culture can cause problems

Lawyers tend to focus on what could go wrong and are constantly striving to secure the position and interests of their clients. This can create a negative mindset and result in self-doubt or overthinking, which is particularly problematic in a remote working setting.

Covid-19 is exacerbating existing problems and creating new ones

We need to be mindful of staff, clients and ourselves during the pandemic: each individual is important.

Research confirms law is, despite appearances, a job that stimulates a great deal of emotion.

Awareness of these emotions and cultivating skills in working with emotions makes learning and output easier. A panellist said, ‘generally, more senior lawyers are less open to EI (emotional intelligence), but the next generation expects it.’ Senior partners need to demonstrate their ability to become ‘emotional leaders,’ and create secure spaces in which lawyers feel able to practice and develop their emotional skills. 

A professional is expected to be detached and absorb the extremes of client behaviour

Where can he/she vent or share his/her concerns? Scandinavia has emphasised good support and a community spirit both within and between their law firms. The UK participants thought this was lacking for them.

Law firms have shown themselves to be enormously adaptive in response to the crisis

Do law firms have the conviction to maintain and develop some of these new working practices in support of the emotional wellbeing of their lawyers?

You can watch the webinar here: /mental-health-in-the-legal-profession-after-Covid-19